An image encoding apparatus according to H.264 (Non Patent Literature (NPL) 1) employed as a video encoding method uses three types of pictures, i.e., “I picture”, “P picture”, and “B picture”, to compress the amount of information.
Here, the use of a motion-vector-predictor specification mode by the image encoding apparatus to encode a motion vector of a current block to be encoded which is included in a B picture or a P picture is under consideration (NPL 2). When the motion-vector-predictor specification mode is used, the image encoding apparatus generates motion-vector-predictor candidates from, for example, blocks adjacent to the current block. Then, the image encoding apparatus selects the motion vector predictor from among the candidates.